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shine and rose up to his knees.
    Robere brushed Tiberius’ hair and then tied the laces around his tunic’s flowing cuffs. Tiberius looked at himself in the long dressing mirror and declared himself ready for the feast.
    The night seemed to drag on and on. The meal was served to a full hall, with wealthy patrons and courtiers all dressed in their finest. Tiberius found many of the young women of the court to be quite attractive, but they didn’t seem to notice him at all. Wine flowed freely, but Tiberius was careful not to drink too much. He had Robere, who helped serve the royal family during meals, bring him water instead.
    Rafe was seated next to Tiberius, both well away from the Earl and Countess. Sometimes Tiberius wondered if his parents would even notice if he failed to show up for their formal evening meals. Rafe kept up a running commentary, most of it crude humor, as the solders who led the ballistae crews gave reports to the Earl. It was a regular game the two young men had played since they were children. Tiberius couldn’t laugh or draw attention to himself during such feasts, and Rafe did his best to get his friend laughing out loud.
    Tiberius noticed that Rafe kept glancing at Lady Olyva. His friend hadn’t admitted to having a crush on Tiberius’ future sister-in-law, but it was obvious just the same. Not that crushes among the young people of the royal court were uncommon, but in this case Rafe’s passion was distressing. Lady Olyva was already matched and promised to Brutas. If Rafe had just had a secret crush, it would have been no big deal, but Tiberius also noticed that Lady Olyva stole her fair share of glances toward Rafe. That spelled trouble for the Sword Master’s son, and Tiberius was frustrated that there wasn’t anything he could do to help.
    Finally, the festivities ended, and Tiberius excused himself from the table. He hurried back to his room, where Robere was waiting to help him disrobe once more. Tiberius was dressed in warm woolen sleeping clothes, and candles were lit around the room. Normally, Tiberius had lessons to study or reports to prepare for, but on this night he merely waited impatiently for Robere to leave.
    “Do you require anything else, Master Tiberius?”
    “No,” Ti said. “I’m fine for the night. Thank you.”
    “Of course, my lord.”
    Tiberius smiled, Robere was the only person who ever called him lord. He waited until the older man had left, then he flipped the small latch to lock his door and hurried back to the bed and the treasure waiting underneath.

Chapter 5
Tiberius

    His hands shook as he pulled the trunk out from under his bed. He opened the lid and carefully took out the book fragments. The leather was old and worn, puckering around the edges and torn at the corners. The paper was different than the parchment he was used to handling. It was thin and stiff, but hardy at the same time. He carried the fragments to his small table. The water and basin had been set on a high shelf and a polished silver candelabra with half a dozen beeswax candle tapers burned brightly.
    He set the book down and looked at it again. The title, which had been pressed into the leather, probably with some type of gold leaf, was completely worn away. The once smooth texture of the leather was now rough and dry. Tiberius was careful not to get the book too close to the candles, knowing it would catch fire easily.
    He opened the cover, and looked down at the first yellowed page. His heart was racing. He held in hands the work of an actual wizard. He had no idea who Horace Masstivus had been, but he felt a sense of gratitude for the long-dead wizard. He wondered what it meant to be a Wizard of the Third Order, but again he had no idea. The only thing he’d ever been taught about wizardry was the danger of working magic and that it was the cause of the great cataclysm which had destroyed most of Valana. Everything with references to wizards or magic had been gathered up and